State v. Alexander

40 So. 2d 232, 215 La. 245, 1949 La. LEXIS 939
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedMarch 21, 1949
DocketNo. 39270.
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 40 So. 2d 232 (State v. Alexander) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Alexander, 40 So. 2d 232, 215 La. 245, 1949 La. LEXIS 939 (La. 1949).

Opinion

MOISE, Justice.

The defendant was indicted and prosecuted for murder. He was convicted of the crime of manslaughter, sentenced to the penitentiary at hard labor for 21 years, and from this conviction and sentence he appeals.

A motion for a new trial was filed embodying certain errors as shown by the bills-of exception that were allegedly made by the trial judge during the. conduct of the proceedings.

, The record shows that there were no eyewitnesses to the crime and the only proof' offered by the State as to the guilt of the accused is his- numerous incriminating statements made on the afternoon of the alleged slaying.

Bill of Exception No. 1 was reversed to the overruling of defendant’s motion for a new trial. The court in its per curiam states that this motion was overruled “for the reasons set forth in Bills of Exception Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5.” Therefore, this bill will be hereafter discussed.

Bill of Exception No. 2 was taken to the admitting in evidence, over counsel for defendant’s objection, of certain incriminating statements made by the accused for the reason that they were not free and voluntary and for the further reason that the *249 defendant, at the time of making said statements, was in a state of intoxication and that his drunkenness had reached the point of mania. The trial judge overruled the objection to the- admissibility of these statements and gave the following reasons:

“After hearing the evidence I am of the opinion that the confessions or admissions were free and voluntary, and that defendant, while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, was still rational and knew what he was saying. This belief is strengthened by the fact that he told the officers where the body would be found, and it was found there.”

In State v. Bartley, 34 La.Ann. 147, this Court stated:

“In regard to the admissibility of the confession of the accused, it depended upon a question of fact, that is, whether the confession was voluntary or not. This question the Judge had to decide, with a view to determine its admissibility. It was a matter largely within his discretion; and after hearing and weighing the evidence touching the character of the confession, he held that it was voluntary and admitted it.
“Whether the confession was voluntary or not, and admissible or inadmissible, under the evidence submitted, is a mixed question of law and fact, which we are authorized to review; the evidence on the point being set forth in the bill of exceptions.”

The jurisprudence of the State is well-settled to the effect that a confession must be free and voluntary in order to be admitted in evidence against the defendant in a criminal prosecution; that it is the duty of the State to' prove that the confession is free and voluntary and that the admissibility of the incriminating statements or confession of the accused is a question of fact, that is, whether the confession was voluntary or not. The trial judge had to settle this question of fact within his sound discretion. State v. Bartley, 34 La.Ann. 147; State v. Porteau et al., 52 La.Ann. 476, 26 So. 993; State v. Edwards et al., 106 La. 674, 31 So. 308.

In Wharton’s Criminal Evidence, 11th Ed., Vol. 2, Sec. 633, at page 1059, we find the following:

“While a disturbance or a partial loss of control of the mental faculties is not in itself a ground for declaring the confession to be involuntary, the circumstances are to be taken into consideration by the jury when they come to consider the evidence. Hence, a confession otherwise voluntary is not to be excluded because the accused was intoxicated at the time of making it. That fact goes to the weight only of the confession and is for the exclusive consideration of the jury. It is even held by the weight of authority that a confession made by an intoxicated prisoner is none the less admissible because the liquor was furnished to him by the officer having him in custody. *251 * * * However, the courts have stated that should the intoxication of the con-fesser produce actual mania or render him 'unconscious of what he is saying the confession is inadmissible as a result thereof.”

Similar language was quoted with approval in State v. Berry, 50 La.Ann. 1309, 24 So. 329 and State v. Hogan, 117 La. 863, 42 So. 352.

A review of the authorities brings us to the conclusion that the fact of the intoxicated condition of the accused at the time of making the confessions does not, unless such intoxication goes to the extent of mania, affect the admissibility of evidence of such confessions, if they were otherwise voluntary. We believe that the confessions were properly admitted.

Bill No. 3 was reserved by the defendant to the ruling of the trial judge that the testimony of A. L. Coffee as to his familiarity with the place and manner in which the gun of defendant was carried in his truck. The defendant does not show the relevancy of this evidence nor how he was aggrieved. We find no merit in this bill.

Bill No. 4 was reserved to a statement made by the Assistant District Attorney in his argument before the jury relative to the confessions. While commenting on the admissibility of the confessions and statements made by the defendant, the Assistant District Attorney stated: “ * * as the Court has so ruled”, after the trial judge had charged the jury not to consider the argument of counsel but to base their verdict on the law and evidence. If this statement had been prejudicial, such a charge would have cured the alleged irregularity.

It is a well-settled principle that as a matter of law, the prosecuting officer has the right to press upon the jury any view of the case arising out of the evidence —the Supreme Court is bound to credit jurors with common intelligence, conscientiousness, and sense of duty. To justify setting aside a verdict of a jury, approved by the trial judge, on the ground of intemperate or improper remarks made by a District Attorney, we would have to be thoroughly convinced that the jury was influenced by such remarks, and also, that the remarks contributed to the verdict found. State v. Johnson & Butler, 48 La.Ann. 87, 19 So. 213; State v. Hamilton, 124 La. 132, 49 So. 1004, 18 Ann.Cas. 981; State v. Davis et al., 178 La. 203, 151 So. 78; and State v. Tucker, 204 La. 463, 15 So.2d 854. We find no merit in Bill of Exception No. 4.

Bill of Exception No. 5 was taken to the refusal of the trial judge to charge the following special charges:

“No. 1. I charge you, gentlemen of the jury, that the condition of a defendant as to intoxication must be taken into consideration as to the truthfulness of his confession.
“No. 2. If you conclude that the defendant was in such a state of intoxication that *253 he did not know the import of his statements offered as confessions, then it is your duty to disregard said statements and evidence.
“No. 3.

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Bluebook (online)
40 So. 2d 232, 215 La. 245, 1949 La. LEXIS 939, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-alexander-la-1949.